


You Smiled Because You Knew

by chase_acow



Series: The Cupid [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Bucky is grumpy, M/M, Red String of Fate, Steve/Peggy - Freeform, sam is an angel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 02:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10688361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chase_acow/pseuds/chase_acow
Summary: "You've got the wrong address," the man who'd answered growled. He had long, scraggly hair that had mostly escaped his attempts to pull it away from his face. He had nice eyes, and wouldn't have been unattractive, especially with a shave, except for the scowl. "Nobody here wants or needs your . . . services."It was apparent by the tone the man did not appreciate Sam's hard work.Well, that was tough shit.





	You Smiled Because You Knew

**Author's Note:**

> Oy, I forgot to save the notes when I posted. So, this is totally inspired by [this super cute though sometimes stressful video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxa3_36cvDo) and [The Request](http://archiveofourown.org/works/311184) (SPN Castiel/Dean) by [CloudyJenn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudyjenn/pseuds/cloudyjenn).
> 
> I appreciate all the comments and kudos, let me know where I go wrong. Feel free to see me on [tumblr](http://cowsalot.tumblr.com/) where I still haven't figured anything out.

Sam landed lightly on the sidewalk in front of the building, hopping slightly with built momentum. The place was a little ramshackle, but there was love and care for anyone to see. It might bes small, but careful amateur repairs, a new coat of paint, lively flower pots all showed the people who lived there were good. He liked it when he got to help good people, it beat the unrequited he had to disappoint. 

Quickly adjusting the quiver on his back, Sam settled his wings down and tucked them against his body. The warm gray feathers were his downfall in the pride department, but his numbers were so good, the senior partners let him have the conceit. He took the steps two at a time and knocked a jaunty two-three pattern on the yellow door. 

The door opened, and he smiled. "Hi," he said, not needing to pull the scroll out. He made sure to keep a record of complete accuracy. "I'm here to see-" 

"You've got the wrong address," the man who'd answered growled. He had long, scraggly hair that had mostly escaped his attempts to pull it away from his face. He had nice eyes, and wouldn't have been unattractive, especially with a shave, except for the scowl. "Nobody here wants or needs your . . . services." 

It was apparent by the tone the man did not appreciate Sam's hard work. 

Well, that was tough shit. 

"While I appreciate your no doubt sad and definitely in no way the results of your own poor decisions backstory of misery, I do have a job to do," Sam shoved his foot in the door so it wouldn't get slammed in his face. Thankfully he hadn't worn his new Nikes. "I'm here on behalf of Steven Rogers and Margaret Carter." 

"Fuck my life," the man muttered, giving up his attempts to shut the door. He turned around and bellowed down the hallway, "Steve, your poor choices are ruining my day again!" 

Sam ruffled his feathers up and smoothed them down while waiting. He needed to find someone to help him oil them, but he'd wanted to finish this last job before he took a break. He'd been saving it for a while since the file read no rush, he'd wanted to enjoy it. 

A petite golden haired man came into view. He was neat where the other grunged, but the two of them looked good together. Yin and Yang, possibly. Sam wasn't one who studied auras, but he could imagine the shimmer that would follow this man. When he spotted Sam, somehow his face lit up even further, a grin shaped his face. 

"Really?" Steve asked, rushing the last few steps and reaching for Sam's hand. 

"Really," Sam confirmed, happy to share the excitement. Over Steve's shoulder, he spotted the other man and braced himself for the storm. It didn't come. The other man's face softened in light of Steve's happiness. "I'm Sam, I'll be helping you and Peggy through your bond." 

"Buck!" Steve turned around, flinging himself at the other man in full bodied hug. "Bucky, it's really happening!" 

Bucky wrapped his arms around Steve, a flash of silver making Sam take notice of the prosthetic attached at his left shoulder. "Of course it is," he said quietly, rubbing his cheek into Steve's hair. "I told you it would. You two are the best." 

Sam's heartstrings pulled, maybe first impressions weren't everything. 

"Let's take this glorified pigeon and go get you hitched." 

Maybe not. Sam scowled hard, but instantly plastered on a smile when Steve turned around, already asking a hundred questions. 

 

# 

 

"Well they're the most sugar rotting cutest thing I've ever seen," Clint said, popping into sight at Sam's side. "You ever kinda think . . . _uhggg_ when you look at them?" 

Steve and Peggy were still cavorting through the park, circling the stand of trees where Bucky was waiting. The red twine connecting their heart shots shimmered and drew them closer together by the moment. Sam didn't have any particular reason to stay, but even if he wasn't physically close to Bucky, he didn't want to leave him completely alone. 

"This is what the job's all about," Sam said, waving his hand in front of his face to get Clint's golden down to fall away from his face. Clint was notorious with his messy wings. "This is better than the one-sideds, or the doomed. What's not to like about two people in love?" 

Bucky stood by himself, a black smear among the greenery. He'd been as excited as everyone while Sam drew his bow, and he'd laughed and hugged and cried along with Steve and Peggy. But their bond was deep and romantic and eventually they pulled away, chasing each other deeper into the park. Bucky stayed, Sam had overheard their plans to go to dinner after the bond settled. He almost wished he could go too. 

"But do they have to be so," Clint trailed off, watching as Peggy turned Steve's face up to hers and kissed the tip of his nose. "That?" 

"What are you doing down here? Don't you have someone else to bother?" Sam asked, crossing his arms across his chest. He'd always been protective of his love matches, especially the ones who actually worked hard on their relationship instead of relying on an angel to sweep in at the last moment. He liked Clint when they weren't working, but dealing with him on the job took more patience than Sam usually had allotted to spend. 

Clint fluttered around Sam, blocking his vision of the two lovers. He floated about a foot off the ground, idly flapping his wings for simple effect. "I thought I’d look in on you, it's been a decade or two," Clint said with a grin, swanning around Sam until he came to rest beside him, an arrow twirling between his fingers. 

"Yeah, I guess I've been a little busy," Sam said, defensive already. The work tended to jade them sooner or later, but Sam was still clinging to the happy stories, the ones that filled the world with joy. 

"More than a little," Clint said, nudging Sam hard in the ribs. "Remember when we used to play darts with these things?" 

"Yeah, but dinosaurs were a lot less picky about their mates," Sam said, subtly trying grab the arrow. He didn’t want this to turn into a full blown game of keep-away, and Clint would do it too, just to be an asshole.

"But how easy, right? Just _bam_! Love!" 

The arrow flew through the air, straight and true, covering the twenty yards in the time it took to blink. Sam still saw it in slow motion. Saw the fletching from his own feathers flutter from the motion. The red string of fate flowed freely behind. And then the arrow hit its mark. 

"What," Bucky said flatly, trying to crane his head around to see. He ended up twisting like a dog chasing his tail. "What. What the fucking hell." 

The arrow sticking out of his shoulder blade wasn't disappearing, not even as much as Sam continued to desperately pray. "Barton, what have you done?" he whispered, but Clint was long gone, vanished to their heavenly plane. 

"Bucky, are you okay? What's going on?" Steve and Sharon rushed over, their hands still clasped tightly. 

"All right, nobody panic," Sam said, flying over. He bodily pushed and prodded until Bucky was leaning into the tree on his hands to keep his face from slamming into the bark during Sam's anxious check. The arrow had hit it's mark for sure, buried deep and immovable. Its red string curled and floated, leading a trail to Sam's quiver, it wasn't trying to find a match at all. "Shit." 

"Is it time to panic yet?" Bucky asked, shaking Sam off and turning around to glare at him with his hands on his hips. 

Sam held up his hands as a peace offering. "I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed and angry, and also worried. "My friend was here, and he was a little careless." 

"Careless! This is my life!" Bucky yelled, twisting to try to reach the arrow with both hands from opposite sides of his body. "Take it out!" 

"Bucky, calm down," Steve said, his voice slow and even. He was immediately ignored by everyone. 

"Look, it’s not like I can yank it out! It doesn’t work like that," Sam slapped Bucky upside the back of his head. "Stop picking at it, you'll only make it worse." 

"Worse? How could the possibly be worse, you deranged lunatic of an angel," spit had bubbled up the corners of Bucky's mouth and if Sam didn't come up with something quickly, he'd be foaming at the mouth before too long. 

"Push it too deep, it becomes a soulbond," Sam answered, "Permanent through any believed afterlife or reincarnations." 

"I am going to murder you and stuff a mattress with those pretty feathers." 

On reflection, Sam might later be embarrassed by the flush that heated his cheeks as Bucky threatened his wings. He thought they were pretty. 

"Look, it's not the end of the world," Sam kept hold of the red string, wrapping it around his wrist to keep it from accidentally finding an unwanted match. "We'll have to find someone compatible that you want, and then you'll be safe." 

"I don't want that," Bucky yelled. The metal plates in his arm readjusted, but throughout the entire incident, he never once made a move to take his anger out on Sam. Which was refreshing given some of the people he had to work with. "I think I've been pretty explicit this whole time about my feelings toward this nonsense. And what do you mean by 'safe'?" 

Sam took an arrow from his quiver and attached the string to the end. The string still curled around him, playful and not seeking, they'd have a little bit of time to fix things. "I mean, this is going to be a serious bond, probably lifelong. Some people wouldn't care if they liked you to get that kind of security," he said, desperate people went to desperate lengths, he'd seen attempts before. "Plus, fate has a way of making these things work one way or another. If you want a choice, we'll have to act fast." 

 

# 

 

"So you're saying there's no one?" 

They'd reconvened at Bucky and Steve's house. The living room was as cozy as Sam would expect it to be. Steve's artwork hung on the walls next to pictures of Steve and Bucky from the time they were kids. Sam perched on the arm on the couch, his wings held out of the way over the backside. Their cat was having the time of its life trying to catch one of his long primaries, but Sam phased it slightly out alignment so it could play without hurting him. 

"No, I'm a loser and I'm not in love with anyone. I barely like anyone," Bucky sat on the edge of the cushion leaning forward despite Sam's insistence that the arrow wouldn't react to any nonorganic corporeal issues like sitting or sleeping. 

"No one's calling you a loser, Bucky," Peggy said, sipping at her drink. The glint in her eye never wavered as she continued, "At least, not for that reason." 

Bucky groaned, but did finally relax. 

"It's fine, I've had tougher cases before," Sam assured everyone, and it was at least partially true. "I'll tag along with you for awhile. Maybe there's someone you'd want to reevaluate now that you've got this option." 

"Great, angelic babysitter," Bucky muttered into his hands. 

"I need to ask," Sam cleared his throat, uncomfortable without his research to fall back on. He could have recited all Steve's crushes before he fell head over heels for Peggy, but he didn't have anything on Bucky's history. "Are you romantically inclined? We also work with asexuals and aromantics, and other spectrums, but I might need to call in a specialist. We help people find the relationships they want and need not what other people think they should have." 

Bucky choked and his ears turned bright red. "No," he said, patting his chest until his voice worked. "That's not an issue. I do, I guess. I kinda want a romantic relationship. I'm not picky about gender, either." 

"Okay," Sam smiled wide, this he could work with. 

 

# 

 

"Okay, so you weren't joking," Sam said, walking with Bucky home from his work. They were a nice enough crew, well, except for Rumlow. That guy was getting expedited to the front of the karma department as soon as Sam had a chance to call in a favor. However, Bucky's string refused to budge from Sam's quiver. "That was a disaster." 

"I told you so," Bucky groused, kicking a piece of cracked cement in front of him. "I thought about Nat once, but it was complicated and she doesn't want any part of these arrows. So there goes that." 

Sam had noticed their kinship immediately, but the affection between them wasn't what his arrows needed, even if they were both willing. Pairs had to be willing before Sam would accept any assignment. "You'll have a lifelong friendship, if that helps," Sam said, he flicked his wing his wing out, nudging Bucky's thigh. 

"Yeah, well," Bucky skin flushed with the setting sun. "I guess that's nothing to scoff at. Any more bright ideas?" 

Since his call to the office hadn't been answered yet, Sam was grasping at straws, but, he looked around. They were still downtown walking to the residential area where Bucky lived, but the buildings around them rose high enough. "There," he said, pointing to a fire escape. "Let's try that. Come on." 

Sam jumped up and pulled the ladder down for Bucky, but took the fast way up, leaping from landing to struts. If he flashed his wings a little more than necessary, well no one else would know. He paced the perimeter of the roof and closed his eyes to let the wind caress his face. 

Bucky finally pulled himself up with his metal arm, his chest heaving under his layers. "What, you didn't think to give me a lift?" Bucky grumbled, rolling over to his back. His shirts rolled up, exposing a strip of belly and the hint of hair trailing down to the elastic from his briefs. 

"Like I wanna carry your fat ass," Sam replied, flapping his wings to spite Bucky as he tried to find something else to look at. He wasn’t supposed to ogle the people he worked for.

"I'm not the one with the big butt," Bucky grumbled, though Sam chose to ignore him. 

"Come up here," Sam said, helping Bucky to his feet. "Close your eyes and try to feel." 

Sam palmed Bucky's shoulders, spinning him to face west and the last sliver of sun slipping under the horizon. The building was six floors, not the tallest, but good enough. It was a chance for Bucky to use his imagination, see if that would help find his match. Sam had to avoid the arrow that would poke him in the chest, but otherwise bent his body close to Bucky's side, speaking in his ear. 

"Somewhere out there is a person for you, someone you can love who's going to love you too," Sam said, moving one hand down to Bucky's hip. Bucky had a wicked sense of humor, and a generous spirit of giving. Anyone would be lucky to win his attention. "It doesn't have to be a big love, the little ones are important too. Try to find them, okay?" 

The quiet lasted for approximately sixteen seconds. 

"Any other great advice, Yoda?" Bucky asked, pulling away from Sam's hands and putting his back to the rest of town. 

"We're not allowed to look into the multiverse," Sam said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the smirk on Bucky's face, "but I have a feeling that somewhere, sometime, I owe you this." 

"Owe me wha-" 

Sam shoved Bucky hard in the chest, sending him tripping over the shin-high barrier ringing the roof. He dived immediately after, pushing against time to catch Bucky under the knees and across his back before they'd passed the third floor. He didn’t know what had prompted him, but they could both use a few minutes of freedom.

"You asshole! You could have... Hey, we're flying!" 

Not bothering to hide his smile, Sam cradled Bucky closer to his chest, and accepted the arm Bucky laid around his neck. "Wow, and here I thought you were as observant as a box of rocks," he teased. He pumped his wings and they shot up into the deep blue sky, watching the stars wink into view. 

 

# 

 

Sam heaved a heavy sigh and let his legs kick out into the empty air. He sat in a tree opposite Bucky's current work site. It had been a week with no luck getting closer to finding the opposite end of Bucky's string, but the longer it went on, the more confused Sam felt about the whole thing. He'd never spent so long in one place with one person. 

"Why won't you do what you're supposed to?" Sam sadly asked the arrow in his hand. After a week, fate should have found someone, but the arrow and string resolutely stayed fluid, spinning around Bucky and Sam. 

"Maybe you're missing something obvious," Misty said, winking into existence beside him. She curled one of her small white wings around his shoulder, letting him take comfort. 

Sam leaned into her shoulder, he'd missed her more than he realized while filling his time with never ending assignments. This week had brought many things to light, including his loneliness. "I haven't seen you in awhile?" he asked, there had been a time once when they'd been inseparable. 

"I've been helping Valkyrie, their undying lands are pretty exciting these days," Misty answered, she handed over half a pomegranate after stealing back several of the seeds. "Hey, he's got a metal arm too!" 

"Yeah, Bucky's great, I thought of you when I saw it," Sam said, he tucked his own wing under hers, wrapping it around until it folded over to cover her thigh. "I've been thinking a lot these days. I don't understand why he's so alone." 

"I've never understood why you stay so alone," Misty said, throwing one of the seeds so it bopped Rumlow on the head. He glared, trying to find the source, but since he couldn't see them, went back to work only for Sam to toss one and get him right in the ear. "There's lots of us who miss you." 

"Ah, I'm okay," Sam said, shrugging off his friend's concern. He'd be fine, but Bucky . . . "You know what's going on, right? This arrow, it should be finding someone for him." 

"Maybe he doesn't have a match out there." 

"No, I refuse to believe that," Sam said, holding the arrow close to his chest. "He doesn't deserve to be alone. He deserves to be warm and happy, and to have someone to hold his hand any time he wants." 

"Well then, I guess you've got some thinking to do," Misty said, hopping down and away. 

 

# 

 

Waiting for Bucky at the end of the block, Sam didn't need to shove his unhappiness down, he couldn't sustain it when Bucky looked at him and smiled. Something inside his chest that he was holding too tightly relaxed. 

"So was that your girlfriend?" Bucky asked, falling into step alongside Sam. “You two looked good together, all snuggled up.”

Sam winced, they might have been once, but he'd been more serious and she'd never promised anything. He hadn't realized she'd made herself visible to Bucky, though he appreciated it. Angels didn’t always think about mortal sight. "No, she's not- I don't- I've been really busy with work," he said, which was truthful, but only part of the situation. “We’re friends, we like using our wings for comfort.”

"Yeah, love all around, huh? Sorry to ruin your perfect record," Bucky said, bumping his shoulder into Sam's. Their hands almost brushed with each step. 

Sam grabbed Bucky's hand, stopping them in the middle of the sidewalk. "You know I don't care about that, right?" Sam eased Bucky's eyes to his with a hand on his cheek. "I care about you. I don't care if I never get another assignment. I just want you to be happy." 

"You big softie," Bucky said, briefly rubbing his cheek into Sam's hand before he pulled away and started walking again. "I knew you liked me." 

"I never said like," Sam complained, following behind with their hands still joined. "I never said that." 

 

# 

 

"What are you talking about?" Bucky asked, a human trait, asking what they already knew. His eyebrows were angry though, and Sam dipped his head. 

"I can't help you," Sam said, turning away. He wouldn't be able to leave if he were looking at Bucky and achingly empty house now that Steve had moved in with Peggy. "It's been three weeks, Bucky, your arrow should have found someone by now." 

"Maybe I'm that unlovable," Bucky said, his voice hard as he spun Sam around. "You ever think about that?" 

"Well, I know that isn't true, you moron," Sam rolled his eyes. He pulled Bucky's arrow from his quiver and held it out. "Just keep this. Keep it close. Someone else will come, and they'll help you. I can't. I just . . . can't." 

Sam felt the failure deep inside. He'd finally figured it out. He couldn't find the arrow's match because he didn't want to. He didn't want to give up the time they spent together, the breakfasts in the nook, watching shared sunsets, and evenings watching ridiculous television. It was selfish, and Bucky deserved better. He turned again, hesitating slightly, but Bucky didn't try to stop him. This was it. 

This was the end. He wouldn't be a part of any more bondings. How could he, with a broken heart? 

Sam froze, he'd never felt it before for obvious reasons, but the pinprick could only be one thing. "Did you shove the other half of your bond arrow in my ass?" he asked, turning around very slowly 

"Yup," Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, looking very pleased with himself. 

"You asshole," Sam said, flinging himself into Bucky's arms. He wrapped his wings around Bucky and held on so tightly, unsure if he was laughing or crying.


End file.
